Bank of Baroda (BoB) Obtains RBI Approval for Standalone Primary Dealership Subsidiary

Exam-focused facts from the 12 January 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Bank of Baroda (BoB) received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transfer its existing bank primary dealer authorization to a proposed wholly-owned subsidiary.
The new subsidiary will undertake Standalone Primary Dealer (SPD) business to enhance liquidity and price discovery in the government securities (G-Sec) market.
The RBI introduced the Primary Dealers (PDs) system in 1995 to strengthen G-Sec market infrastructure and underwriting capabilities.
Commercial banks were permitted to conduct PD business departmentally starting from the 2006-07 period.
The Indian banking sector currently features 7 Standalone Primary Dealers and 14 Bank Primary Dealers.
Current Bank PDs include BoB, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, and IDBI Bank.